How Trump’s video makes Republicans look bad

How Trump’s video makes Republicans look bad

If one man has split the Grand Old Party in two, it’s Donald Trump. It’s no secret the man’s publicized, illiterate antics have made him an antihero of sorts to a subculture of conservatives. In house, however, Trump has become more controversial than he appears to be on the outside.

Friday saw the release of a 2005 video, in which Trump describes forcing himself upon women through sexually aggressive means, which has created controversy across the nation toward Trump, Republicans and the very nature of gender relations. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan condemned the video, saying he was “sickened by what [he] had heard” that day and would no longer defend Trump’s actions. Instead, he seeks to use the next four weeks to maintain the party’s congressional power.

In response, Trump fired back at Ryan and like-minded conservatives on Twitter. Not only has he called Ryan a “weak” and “ineffective” leader, but Trump rebelliously declared “shackles have been taken off” him so he “can fight for America” in his own way. Within this tirade, Trump also called out Republican Sen. John McCain for pulling out his endorsement, claiming he “wouldn’t want to be in a foxhole” with McCain and his kind.

As we wrote about last week, many Republicans’ views of both presidential candidates will not change congressional disagreements in the future. At the same time, Trump’s reckless persona (both on and off the small screen) has plagued the GOP enough, making division and issues that will plague the party for years to come.

First off, the criminalizing video doesn’t just hurt one man’s reputation. It makes the Republican Party look bad in general.

Until this past weekend, few Republican officials spoke up against Trump’s negative comments against blacks, Hispanics and women. Very few challenged his plans to build an anti-immigrant wall, which would simply raise new taxes to generate revenue. Conservatism, as a philosophy, has long been rooted in the promotion of a stable economy, and creating a desirable work force of Americans — including Hispanics and Latino Americans.

After everything that has been reported about Trump and his contestable opinions, it makes little sense how one single video would be the tipping point for the GOP. Trump’s wall-building proposals and hatred for immigrants should’ve been enough for party-mates to block him from being the official candidate.

But no, it took a single video to do the inevitable and tear a long-standing group apart. While it’s sad how long it took for the party to take a stand, the video’s content is even more disheartening upon subsequent glances.

By saying he’s a “star,” so women will let him do anything from kissing to grabbing them “by the p—y,” Trump typified the problem with today’s silver spoon culture. Thanks to Republicans letting this same man into their politics, they’ve perpetuated a man hiding behind his celebrity to justify sexual assault. The same man who’s already notorious for misogyny. The same party that has already blocked the progress of middle class Americans through their congressional grip.

As shady as the Democratic Party has become, and as idiotic as Gary Johnson is all the time, neither face such a threat to their philosophies like Republicans are doing right now. Whether Trump wins or loses, the puppeteers behind each GOP action will have to eventually compromise on various discussions to maintain their party’s mere existence.